The International Federation of Journalists condemned the issuance of a 15-year prison sentence for “Yelda Miri,” an Iranian news photographer, and urged the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to drop the charges brought against her.

“Anthony Blanqueur,” the federation’s secretary-general, described the verdict as part of an escalation of pressure on journalists and critics in Iran, and said that the purpose of issuing these sentences is “to silence journalists and opponents.”